Self-Care To Prevent Hearing Loss Fatigue

If you have hearing loss, you know it can be exhausting. Even with hearing aids, you may get tired after a long day at work or an evening out with your friends, and you may experience listening fatigue. You find yourself crashing at the end of a day at the office, and even though you can hear clearly during meetings, the strain takes a toll on your energy levels. It’s far more than just being tired at the end of the day, it’s sheer exhaustion.

How do you cope with listening fatigue? Do you spend your evenings sleeping and still wake up tired? Here are a few of our best tips to prevent hearing loss fatigue, and keep your energy levels high for the things that matter the most, that quality time with your loved ones.

You’re Tired All The Time

Even though you’re sleeping eight or nine hours a night, you still feel tired when you wake up in the morning. The doctor has given you a clean bill of health, but you start each day feeling worn down. We know that feeling of mental and physical exhaustion that hits you after a long day at work or a boisterous dinner party. You work hard to hear so you can fully participate in every aspect of your life, but this stress makes you tried, and spending every minute of every day straining to hear leaves you drained. Trying to keep up with the sounds that surround you all the time can cause stress, anxiety, and even depression.

Listening Fatigue And Your Cognitive Load

According to the Better Hearing Institute, hearing fatigue is extremely common, and costs around 56 billion dollars every year in the US due to lost work productivity. If you have hearing loss, you have to work twice as hard as those with normal hearing just to keep up with normal activities and conversations.

Dr. Ervin Hafter at the University of California Berkeley found that your brain must do so much extra processing just to hear that this has a negative impact on your cognitive performance. For example, if you’re listening to a conversation when there’s background noise, most of your processing power is used up just trying to separate important speech sounds from the unimportant background sounds. Not only are you struggling to hear, but you’re not thinking as quickly or clearly.

Self-Care To Cope With Listening Fatigue

There are several ways that are effective in dealing with listening fatigue. Self-care is so important! Basically, anything that lets you relax and gives your ears and hearing the chance to rest will reduce listening fatigue and fight against the stress and anxiety you’re feeling. Having a power nap for half an hour around lunch is a great way to get a new burst of energy. Don’t wait until you’re at the end of your tether to have a nap, but take a rest before you get too tired. Napping forces your brain to relax and slow down.

Exercise can be a form of self-care that helps you relax and regulate your listening fatigue. If you have a regular aerobic exercise routine, don’t stop because of hearing loss fatigue. Regular, light exercise can go a long way to release stress and allow your ears to rest. Be sure to avoid listening to music when you exercise.

Meditation or breathing exercises help you slow down and take a break, quieting your brain, relieving the strain of struggling to hear, and restoring your energy levels. Yoga is another great way to get the benefits from breathing and meditation, and recharge your batteries faster. If you’re stressed and tired all the time and looking for another alternative, acupuncture could be the solution you’re looking for. While acupuncture doesn’t cure hearing loss, it can help you relax and relieve stress.

Visit Us At Hearing Spa Of Florida For A Hearing Test

If you struggle with hearing loss fatigue, try these tips, then visit us for more. If you currently live with untreated hearing loss, taking a hearing test and being fitted for hearing aids will go a long way to help alleviate some of this exhaustion.